Truss.



J. s. B. FRBEL. TRUSS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1908.

909,077. Patented Jan. 5,1909.

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QTCLW citizen of the United States, residing at New-- PATENT osnron UNITED sT TEs JAMES S. E. FREEL, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF. TO JOHN MCSWEENY,

' OF NEW YORK, N. Y

muss.

' Application-filed April Ta it may concern:

Be it known that'I, JAMEs'S. E. FREEL, a

ark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements Trusses; and I do hereby dec are the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it a pertains to make and use the same.

' e object of my invention is to produce an efficient truss, in which, also, the discomfort attendant upon wearing the usual truss,

and any danger from undue pressure beyondthe situs of lesion, will be obviated.

In the accompanying drawings, forming art of this specification, and in which like etters of reference indicate corresponding parts, I show one of various forms of emodiment of my invention; and, in these drawings, Figure l is a" view in pers ective, showin in full and in dotted lines, t e truss in position on the body for inguinal, or femoraLhernia. Figs. 2 and 2 are views in cross and in longitudinal section, respectively, showing my preferred form of pad having a projection on the,bulge,vor operative, face,

- toward its lowerand outer margin to present the'pad upward toward the apex of the -pro-. X ect1on, that is, incurving upward and over,

somewhat abru tly, to e' most concentrated and greatest pressure at,

the place of the hernia, or at the protrusion, theprojection shelving'from the bottom of ect sustaining ressure u war and shelving somewhat, e'ss abrupt y inward, with elongation of padsurface inward, to presentrnore distributed and less pressure upon the" abdomen, and,

- thus, against the peritoneum. Fig. 3 ,is a

view in elevation showing. the" hollow, or,

, front face of the pad, with a well under the projection to receive one end of the coilsprmg for longitudinal setting of the spring,

'.- as to obtain greater or less ressure there from. Fig. 4 is a view in e evation, showing a plate having a islot by which the plate is spring and having perforations through which it is fastened to the-pad. Figfi 5 is. a view in perspective, showing" the pad mounted free on the coil-spring to permit, with accompanying resiliency, motion in anydirection coniormatory to motion-of the body, Fig. 6 is a view in elevation showing a bi having a suitably perforated body and ears;

Bpecificationo! Letters Patent.

turned upon the iinnerend of a'coilank . Patented Ian. 5, 1909.

1903. Serial No. 42am.

also,-a bolt and nut; so that, byturning up the body of the blank, a clip will be formed and, by turning down the ears onto the outer end of the coil-spring, the clip will be firmly secured to the spring; and, by the bolt through the perforations of the clip, and by the nut, the pad will be adjustably set on the frame of the truss. Fig. 7 is a view in pers ective, showing the pad on the plate, the p ate on the spring, thespring on the clip, and the clip on the frame. Fig. 8 is a view in section, taken centrally through a backplate longitudinally of the line of the rear backplate with a socket having a ball in it, supplying a ball-and-socketjomt for auto- 'matic adjustment, a covering-plate or cap,

' its inner end passing through a perforation in the frame into theballto secure the backcan be no danger of shifting, and a goose liably to hold it, the goose-neck, in use,'being turned away from the direction of pull of the strap. Fig. 9 is 'a view in perspective, taken from the rear, showing the back-plates and exhibiting the relation of general parts of the truss and the strap. v p

T The frame of he truss extends around the men and thighs. I The pad, of which one or two'may be employed, as the hernia is single or double, is of particular contour, to concentrate pres sure, with lift, to effect cut-off externally, and to avoid undue pressure, inward from the situs'of'the hernia, upon the peritoneum, or Iperitoneal region.

y'the setting ,of thepad free upon a spring, instead of upon a spring-seated, or

joint-seated, post itself automatically more readily to distention or recession 0 theabdominal regions in breathing, as also to'any movements of the ody- By setting the ad revolubly upon the spiral spring, (by t e plate fixed to its inner its equivalent) the stifiness, or degree of thrust, of the spring'mayjbe increased by turning; the pad outward, thatijs; away from the body, bringing more offthe' 'ody' of the neck at its outer end to permit ready application of a backstrap by thepatient and rehips instead of about the abdomen, bringingthe frontpart into the creases between abdoface andhaving the peculiar curved slot, or

art of theframe of the-truss, showing the and a catch-pin, or-button, having a screw at plate to the frame insuch manner that there or the like, it will adapt 'be desirable.

By turning up the body of the blank, a suitable clip is readily madefwhile, by the turning down'of the ears of the blank upon the spring, a ready and, at once, immovablyfirm attachment of thisclip to thespring is secured.

rying the plate, which is mounted on the pad, maybe adjusted upon the frame, asusual. To put the truss together, first put the screw up through the spring from below, and through the clip, and turn on the nut; then turn the plate onto the spring, and then screw it to the pad.

The pad may be of aluminum, or any other suitable non-absorbent substance, for cleanliness and be in formof a shell, or be flat in front. f By changing position of the frame and pads, the truss is equally applicable to cases of abdominal, (e. g. umbillcal and ventral) or other, hernia, and to any situation where readily regulatablefressure is requisite.

Referring to the raw-ings for specific illustration of my invention, A indicates the frame of the truss which isprovided, preferably,.with fiange pieces, a, of any suitablesubstance, has perforations at the back, asat a and, in front, is tocarry a pad, or pads, B, and, behind, aplate or plates, C,connected bya strap, D, having perforations, d, for adjustability. v

The truss, especially in cases of inguinal, or femoral, hernia, will be worn about the hips (the frame being suitably bent'to conform), vthe plates at the rear resting in'the depressions at the upper portions of the glutei maximi, or gluteus maximus muscles, about the region between these and the glutei medii, or vgluteus medius muscles, across the tensor fasciae latae, below the crest of the ilium, forward into the sulci between the abdomen and the front of the thighs, to the inguinal and femoral regions.

The pad, B, consists preferably, of a shelllike, or recessed, body, the bulge bein on its inner, or o erative, face, and the ho low at the outer ace; though, instead of this face appearin hollow, or recessed,.it may be covered, or led, to beflat, or to resent any other appearance, only so that t ere is pla for the s ring within, or outside of, the pa This a is of peculiar'contou'r on its operative f ace, having, here, a projection, 1), near its lower and outer margin, raised gradually, at the outer part of its apex and'shelving, or incurving over, somewhat abruptly upward, as at I), and referabl somewhat less, abruptly, inward 1 as at Where, also, a more extended surface is formed, or left,

58 than at the outer, that is, the other, side of tine, with additiona IIGSS.

the projection. The purpose of this contour is to give greatest pressure at the particular spot of the tumor, or rotrusion of the intesshut-ofl", or 'barri'er, against extension beyond, a lifting pressure against the tumor, and a reduced and distributed' pressure, upward and laterally-m this contour, may be held,in any situation where desirable, rigidly, if desired, as by By the set-screw, the clip and spring, carbandagejbut, as is well known, it is. best,

ward against the peritoneum. My pad;yof f that a truss-pad should have some elasticityof pressure and be universally movable; andv 7 it is, also, desirable, that there should becapability of regulation of the pressure. These results: have been accomplished by springseating the pad with the intervention of posts, joints, rods, or the like, and by turn mg apost screw-threaded at its lower end 3 and provided with 'a lateral pin, with this pin bearing on the springybut never by fixing the pad on the endof a spr ng, for example,

a coil-sprin by itself the spring being free, that is, foriii ing inand of itself, the immediate and sole support for thepad, however secured to it, and affording, at the same time, with resiliency, movement in any direction,

'. yielding any direction; to conform to-distention or'recession or'the parts of the body in contact, 'or to any movement of the body, and by turning the pad, itself, directly 'onored the spring, or the'spri'ng to or fromthe pad,-ner e turning the pad on thefcoil spring-for diminishing thrust, and pressure, freeing'a coilor coils from action, or, indirection off the spring, for increased thrust and all t 1pressure, exposing more of the spring, is bringing additional coil or coils into j action; that is, without'any barrel and pin and slotted post, eta, merely by-seatingthe pad directly, revolubly upon-the coil-sprmg.

'Where a bent spring, such as a rod, set' slanting, is employed, more of the sprin exposed,. the lesswill be the pressure, "an vic'e versa that is, less spring: greater stilt The outer face'may have infit, preferably under the projection, b, a well, or depre's-- sion, 1)", to receive the inner endof a coilspring, b -or, without the well, the s ring may be in the-hollow ofthe pad, genera y,. %eld, in any suitable manner, free to turn, as

a rd un or of any suitable shape, forexample, crescent-shaped, as at b, for the end of the spring I 1 My pad, set directly on one end of a'free spring, for resiliency and conformatory mo tion, andv adjustable as to pressu're, may be secured to anysuitable truss-frame, m;an'y

one end of thespring, the outer end in use,

and'adjustably to secure it. To this end, I

plate, I), having an entrance through it,

form a blank with a body, I), ears, 6, and 130 convenient manner; but I prefer to provide perforations, I), turn the bod up to, present a clip and fasten this on 't e coil-spring by bendin down the ears on the appropriate end-coil 0 this s ring, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, af t-er' which it may be fixed upon the frame of the truss by a bolt and nut, b, as seen in the same fi ure. 7

It is desirable that back-p ates to a truss should'b'e self adjusting, be capable of movement conformatorfy to that of the body, and, also, be capable 0 being set at different positions along the frame; and that their connection to fix the truss in position should be eas for an old and still or rheumatic erson, an be firm and reliable when effected? For these purposes, I provide the plate with a ball-and-socket joint, asat c, capped by-a plate, a, and provide, a catch-pin, or button, 0 havin a screw-thread at its one end, the

inner en in use, and a goose-neck, or hook,

at its other end, the outer end in use, this catch-pin being set through the desirable perforation, (1 of the frame and screwed into the ball, sett' g the pin in such manner that the point of the hook will be turned outward, whereupon, when the frame is in 'place, the

wearer may readily slip a (perforation, d, in a strap, D, upon a hook an as the hooks are turned outward, or against the strain of'the strap,this will be held without danger of shift or slip on movement of a back-plate with the body.

Having, thus, fully set forth my invention and illustrated means of carrying it into effect, what I claim and desire to secure and'be protected in by Letters Patent, is-

- 1. The combination with a truss-frame with back-plates, each provided with a ball.

and-socket joint to cause it to conform to movements of the body, and each attached to the frame by a fastening, the outer portion of which serves as a catchin, or button, and

is a screw, that,

. erative face, toward its lower an frame in a manner obviating any da er of shifting and a strap for engagement wit said catchins or buttons, substantially as described v 2. A hollow truss-pad, havin on its opouter margin, a projection, rising gradually to the outer (part of its apex, and shelving and incurve vupward and inward, leaving a more extended surface inward, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combmation-with a trussad of any suitable configuration, or kind, 0 a'free spring, the pad being seated directly on the s ring, and relation ofthe pad to pressure,

t rust, or forceof the spring being adjustable, substantially as and for the purposes described. i

4. The combination with a truss-pad of any suitable kind, of a spring coil to which the pad 'is adjustably secured for universal motion, and a clifor attaching the s ring to a truss-frame su stantially as descri ed.

5. The combination with a coil-spring of a clip formed of the perforated body, 6 theclip being secured to one end of the sprin by the bent ears, I), substantially as described and shown. i

6. The combination with a truss-frame of a coil-spring. having a clip secured to one of its ends by ears, I)", the clip beingadjustably attached to the frame by a bolt and nut, substantially as described.

, 7. The combination of a truss-back-plate movable with the body, of the hook-shaped catch, or catches, and a suitable strap, thecatch, or catches, being set hook-outward, substantially as and for the "purpose described. a

In testimony whereof, I, afiixmy signature,

in the presence of two subscribing witnesses,

JAMES S. E; FREEL. 'Witnesses:

R. G. DYRENFORTH, EDMUND H. PARRY. 

